Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera said that while indirect taxes account for 80 percent of the government’s tax income, this would be brought down to 60 percent within the next two years.

He made these comments while calling on the Malwatte Prelate in Kandy with Development Strategies and International Trade Minister Malik Samarawickrema and State Minister of Finance Eran Wickremeratne.

The Finance Minister said the prices of goods would come down sharply once the indirect tax on goods is reduced. He said the incomes generated from direct taxes would be invested in projects to promote economic development.

The newly appointed Finance Minister also said former Finance Minister Ravi Karunanayake had rendered a yeoman service by taking over the Finance Ministry portfolio while the country was engulfed in a debt trap.